Ritter Exhorts Soviets To Allow Girl, 3, To Leave

Lehigh Valley Rep. Don Ritter yesterday urged Soviet authorities to reunite the three-year-old daughter of Valdo and Leila Miller-Randpere with her parents who defected to Sweden two years ago.

Ritter, in a letter hand-delivered to the Soviet Embassy in Washington, repeated a 1985 request that Kaisa Randpere be allowed to emigrate to be with her parents.

"Kaisa, who recently 'celebrated' her third birthday away from parents Valdo Randpere and Leila Miller-Randpere, has not been allowed to emigrate to the West for more than half of her young life - something which leaves me, my colleagues in Congress, the people of the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania, and indeed, all Americans, deeply concerned about the human rights violations of the Soviet government," Ritter said.

Ritter's letter, addressed to Soviet Ambassador Yuri V. Dubinin, and letters from several other congressmen, were read last night at a rally near the Soviet Embassy. The rally was organized by Henno Parks of Trexlertown, who is chairman of the "Committee to Free Kaisa Randpere."

Kaisa's parents were forced toleave their daughter behind when they defected from the Soviet Union two years ago. Now living in Sweden, they are planning to move soon to the United States.

Ritter, in his letter, reminded Dubinin of current negotiations between the United States and the Soviet Union on arms control.

"It is not in the Soviet government's best interest to, in effect, hold the world's youngest hostage," Ritter said. "People all over the world lose confidence in the Soviets' ability to abide by even the most basic of treaties when they see the rights of families and innocent children so readily abused."

In 1985, Ritter, on a visit to the Kremlin, delivered a letter to then President Andrei Gromyko requesting the release of Kaisa.